# These are the stupidest people in the world!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 14, 2000, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217 "2000-11-14T22:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/1 "2000-11-14T22:48:06Z")
Well, my wife left C-Span on. No, I didn’t get to see the press conference; all I got to hear was a long string of callers saying… [sub](cornflakes, put down the knife and type…) that this election proves that their vote doesn’t count.[/sub] BBWWWAAAAHHHH!!! IDIOTS!!! FUCKING QUITTERS!!! (deep breath) I guess IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR WAY THEN IT DOESN’T MATTER!!! Fine, then don’t vote, Don’t even THINK of FUCKING VOLUNTEERING or CONTRIBUTING (which would really make a difference.) It doesn’t matter that this election could have hinged on a thunderstorm, the work of ten volunteers or whatever; just CRAWL BACK UNDER YOUR ROCK and POUT!!! After all, none of it matters, and what you want never counts. ---
**Author:** ![caircair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@caircair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caircair)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/2 "2000-11-14T23:39:15Z")
Actually, I have an idea as to how we can clean up the Election Debacle. Just go through the polling records, then force every registered voter who DIDN’T vote to the polls at gunpoint. MAKE 'em vote! ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/3 "2000-11-15T03:26:52Z")
No, I’m not arguing that anyone has to vote. I just don’t have any sympathy for these dolts. We don’t know who yet, but one candidate came within a sneeze of winning, and these people think their opinion doesn’t matter. These people don’t want to take a stand, they just want to whine. ---
**Author:** ![UnEasyRider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e56c9b/32.png) [@UnEasyRider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnEasyRider)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/4 "2000-11-15T04:45:57Z")
You know **caircair** that isn’t a bad idea. At least we would know that everybody bitching about the elections would have actually voted. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/5 "2000-11-15T05:05:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by caircair \* > \*\*Actually, I have an idea as to how we can clean up the Election Debacle. Just go through the polling records, then force every registered voter who DIDN’T vote to the polls at gunpoint. MAKE 'em vote! \*\* Like they do in Australia? Bad Idea if you ask me. I think it would be good if more people voted, but if you’re not going to make an _informed_ decision, then I don’t want you to vote. I doubt if people were forced to vote they would put any more effort towards learning about the candidates. I _do_ think we should make election day a national holiday, though. ---
**Author:** ![Azazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Azazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azazel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/6 "2000-11-15T05:43:15Z")
As far as I’m concerned, let those apathetic assholes stay home and not vote; It just makes my vote count more. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/7 "2000-11-15T15:02:20Z")
You know, the United States didn’t sink to a 50% voting rate because of apathy. It did so because of lack of choice. What if you made everyone vote, but added a “none of the above” category? Then you could see just how much the people were rejecting the available choices. The number would probably be surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/8 "2000-11-15T15:51:24Z")
Well, **mat\_mcl** , you can (at least in my area) write-in a vote, which is basically the same thing as saying none of the above. But people here don’t do that. It seems to be that they don’t think they can vote for anyone who “doesn’t have a chance of winning” and yet they don’t like anyone who has that chance. Kind of a catch-22. ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/9 "2000-11-15T21:15:09Z")
I thought a write-in vote was automatically a spoiled ballot, and thrown away without consideration. Or is that just in Canada? (It took me three tries to type the name of my own country…I didn’t think my hands could get this cold indoors!) ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/10 "2000-11-15T22:24:02Z")
**matt\_mcl** , I completely agree with you. I’d really like to see “none of the above” specifically on the ballot. (I don’t agree that write-in votes are the same thing – most people don’t even know you can write in candidates.) I would personally try to organize apathetic votes to go out to the booths and vote NOTA. Imagine if NOTA got, say, 25%. I think that would send quite a message. (Besides, it’d be a fun campaign to wage.) Since we’re trying to run a representative democracy here, having a way for citizens to indicate that none of the choices represent them seems important. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-are-the-stupidest-people-in-the-world/41217/11 "2000-11-15T23:42:24Z")
matt\_mcl says > [@](#): > > You know, the United States didn’t sink to a 50% voting rate because of apathy. It did so because of lack of choice. What if you made everyone vote, but added a “none of the above” category? Then you could see just how much the people were rejecting the available choices. The number would probably be surprising. I’d agree with that **if** the presidential ballot contained only presidential nominees, but it doesn’t. It has senators, representatives, state government officials, and local government officials as well. Oh, you say those are all the same too? Fine. What about ballot measures, most of which are virtually guarenteed to directly affect you within the next year? No reasonable person can claim lack of choice there. Local levys are often decided by less than a hundred votes, and will have a direct impact on you community. Assuming you are not a hermit of some sort, what’s your excuse now?